A Daddy from the Heart
by Thayy
Summary: House is in the room with Cuddy, Rachel and his new baby daughter. What happens when he tells Wilson that he feels nothing different now he's officially a daddy? How will Rachel react when she realizes that House is Leah's daddy?
1. Chapter 1

**I've been thinking about writing a fan fiction for quite a long time. English is not my first language and so take it easy on me. I apologize for the eventual misspelling and grammar mistakes.**

**This fic takes place in the future, one year after Help me.**

**Prologue: House is in the room with Cuddy, Rachel and his new baby daughter. They are at the hospital a few hours after Leah House's birth. What happens when he tells Wilson that he feels nothing different now he's officially a daddy? How will Rachel react when she realizes that House is Leah's daddy?**

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Even though the pain was incredible, Cuddy hasn't felt helpless for a minute. She was determined and had a single goal that warm evening of May: getting that baby OUT! After ten hours of labor she finally delivered a bouncing and heath little girl. The nurse immediately placed the baby on her chest, and Cuddy peeked between her legs and announced, "It's a girl, House! We made a girl".

House looked at her and smiled, he couldn't explain what he was felling, he tried to see the little creature fussing on her chest and he was amazed by how hard she was working to take her first breaths. She was strong, though, she made it on her on.

Cuddy was tired, beyond exhaustion, but, suddenly, all she wanted was hold her baby. It happened again, she was in love with her daughter, now she can never think about her life without her, without Rachel, without House.

Looking at that tiny person and realizing that she had just gave life to someone else was the most powerful feeling she ever felt. Her baby was health, pink and a miniature version of her. She weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 21.25 inches long. Leah has entered the world screaming her lungs out on her mother's birthday, May 21, 2011!

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After a few hours, Cuddy was transferred to a private room. The nurse has just brought the baby for her first feeding when House arrived with Rachel. The two and a half years old was amazed with her little sister. She couldn't believe the tiny baby came out of Mommy's tummy. It was cute the way she talked to the baby, Rachel was a really sweet girl. She had really developed her speech over the last year. Cuddy was not sure if it was because she has been going to day care now and was around other children all the time or if it was the long talks House used to have with her. She knew many babies improve theirs talk when they have someone talking to them all the time.

House is actually great with her daughter and Rachel, well, she, clearly, adores him. He never treats her like a baby or a toddler. He has established his own unique style of giving her information using accurate facts in a way she always understood him. Over the last year, they have accepted each other and love has grown into their relationship.

Sometimes, Cuddy found hard to believe how easy they were around each other, how House never seems uncomfortable when Rachel kisses and hugs him, when she lays on his chest to watch TV or when she asks him to read her bedtime stories.

They are like best buddies, Greg, as Rachel calls him, was the one she can always run to when mommy is angry, the one who always has some candy, the one who makes silly jokes and silly faces. She never seems to get tired of his whining and complains, she loves his music and can stay quite for hours just listening to him playing the piano.

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Once fed and burped, House took the baby from Cuddy and placed her over the crib. Cuddy seemed exhausted and she, sure, was. She fell asleep within minutes leaving House alone with her daughters. He couldn't stop staring at the fragile little baby in a bundle of blankets in front of him.

Leah had a baby cap on her head, House moved in and took it out. The baby didn't have a lot of hair, but she was not bald either. He slipped his finger into her hand and she automatically grasped on, he looked over the long, little fingers wrapping around his index. He hopes she will enjoy the piano like her sister. He'd teach them himself if they want him to. He looked at her little face and all her features are from Cuddy, then he wondered if she also has a birthmark. He took a good look and then he saw it, a Café au lait spot the size of a nut right above her left ear.

He smiled, he had just realized he was wrong, genetic doesn't matter at all, Leah was the granddaughter of a man he barely knew, she has blue eyes, dark brown hair, a pale skin and birthmark over her head because of his gens. But, in the end, sharing his genes won't determine who she is going to be, as the genes of that strange man haven't determined who he ended up being.

To be continued…

Reviews are appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel was starting to get bored in the room Cuddy was staying, so House decided to take her for a walk. By the time they finish their walk around the maternity floor, it was almost lunchtime, he, then, decided to feed her before she'd get too hungry or too cranky.

They went to the cafeteria and House ordered him a burger with fries, and some chicken nuggets for Rachel. They were enjoying the lunch, not talking a lot, mostly because both of them were tired with the latest events. Suddenly, everything was new and somehow unknown to both of them.

Once they got their food, House spotted Wilson entering the hospital cafeteria. It was only hours since they had seen each other, but the last day had been so intense that it looked like days since they last spoke.

"Hey, daddy!" greeted Wilson with a cheery tone!

"Hi, Wilson!" said Rachel, excited to see Wilson.

"Hi, sweet! How are you doing? Have you seen your sister already?"

"Yep" she nodded giving him a big smile.

"So? What did you think?"

"She is really tiny and my mommy's boobies have milk in them. I have no idea why."

"Oh! Really!" he was quite embarrassed by her statement but he could see why she was amazed by that fact.

Kids at her age usually are amaze by simple facts, since they are just discovering everything around them. Wilson really enjoyed watching Rachel, sometimes, as she simply figured things out by her own. House, on the other hand, was amazed by how quickly she learns things and how easy is to teach her new tricks and entertain her with all the stuff only him cared about.

"And you, House? How are you?" he asked with a smile upon his face.

"I survived. Barely, but I did. The woman was possessed, but once she expelled the evil creature out her body, she seemed to be back to her old self. " He mocked Wilson.

"I'm glad to hear. But the big question is: how do you feel know? I mean… you know… since you are a daddy? Since, now you have a daughter?"

"I… hum… I don't know. I don't feel any different than before… I guess… I was…." he said looking vaguely around the place.

"Oh… oh… oh…" interrupted Wilson. "Don't even start. It's not possible you're felling nothing… you're there with the woman you love. You witness the birth of your child. It's your child, House! For God's sake! You're unbelievable! I can't believe you're saying you haven't…"

"Shut up!" said House with an annoying look. "I'm not saying I didn't feel anything for the kid! Oh God… you're such a woman, Wilson!" he took a deep breath and said. "I mean… what I meant was that… I don't have a new feeling toward the new baby… I mean.. it's not something that I didn't use to fell before. See… I guess it's just… you know…" he point to Rachel, discretely. "I guess the feeling was already here… she was the first one, my first child. The way I fell for the new one is not foreign… it was here before. I'm just.. it's like being in love for the second time… nor that I stopped loving the other one…. Ohhh… you see what I mean?"

Wilson looked at him in disbelieve. He knew House and Rachel had bonded and that they really seemed to like each other, but not at once he thought House saw Rachel as his own. In fact, he was concerned about the new baby, he knew all about House's daddy issues and how he never wanted to have kids. But, once he learned Cuddy was pregnant, all he could do was to hope his friend would somehow figured out a way to be a descent father.

"Oh.. I'm.. I just thought you're saying.. but.. since you never wanted…" he was interrupted by House.

"Yeah… you're always assuming things. Never mind, besides, I don't want to talk about my feelings right now. Too much is going on and I have to take Rachel back home, her nanny will be at our place by 2:00pm"

"Ok, daddy! I'll stop by later to see Leah"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Ok! Bye, Rachel! Bye, daddy!"

To be continued…

Reviews are appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you, guys, for all the reviews and the update alerts.**

**Hope you enjoy it.**

**Again, I apologize for the eventual misspelling and grammar mistakes.**

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House was driving Rachel back home from the hospital. Her nanny would be at their place in an hour or so. He was planning on having some rest and the a decent shower, so he could go back to the hospital to spend the night with Cuddy and the baby.

He looked at his rearview mirror to check how things were doing in the back seat. Rachel was quite, mumbling the song of a Disney cd he had put on for her. She was an easy kid to handle, he couldn't complain. His only hope was that Leah would be low maintenance too.

"So, will you be ok with Marina, tonight?" he asked the toddler.

"Yep!" she replied nodding her little head.

"Great! Your mommy will be back from the hospital tomorrow afternoon, and she will spend plenty of time at home for a while, with you and your sister." he told her trying to cheer her a little.

They arrived home and after parking his car, House helped Rachel climb out, and, as they entered the house, just before they could reach the live room the little girl looked at him and said: "Gregg?"

He had heard that before, he knew she was about to ask something that was bothering her. At that moment he wished she had chosen another time, he was too tired to came out with a decent explanation about the 'why we have a tongue?', 'where does water come from?', or, 'why birds fly?' type of questions.

"Yes?" he answered.

"Are you Leah's daddy?" she asked. She was wondering about it ever since Wilson had called Greg a 'daddy'. She was not even sure what daddy really means, she knew her uncle Thomas was her cousins daddy and the kids in the books, her mom read to her, also had daddies, but what was 'it' really about, she couldn't tell.

House knew it was coming, and it was his fault, he should have discussed this with her before the baby was born. Better, he should have had Cuddy dealt with this situation.

"Yes, Rachel. I'm her daddy." he replied, trying not to go any further with her questioning.

"What is a daddy?" she fired back almost instantaneously.

"Oh! Don't be silly! You know what a dad is, you see about it, all the time, on TV or on you books." he said, still trying to make her drop the subject.

"Yes… but what do they do? What are they for?"

He took a deep breath, sat with her on the couch and said: "Daddies are like mommies, only they are boys." At that moment, it was the best explanation he could come up with.

"So, you have milk on your boobies too?" she looked at him with puzzle eyes.

He couldn't help himself, despite the situation, it still amazed him how her mind come up with questions like that.

"No, Rachie. Only mommies have milk on their boobies. Remember, when your mother told you there was a baby inside her tummy? she nodded and he continued. "Only girls can grow a kid in their stomachs, and, only them can nurse the babies with their breasts. Daddies have to feed them with a bottle."

"But… I don't understand it. Did mommy feed me with her bobbies too?"

"No. You know you didn't grow inside your mom's tummy like your sister, right? Your mom had this talk with you, remember?"

"Yes, she told me I'm her daughter from the heart. The nice lady, who had me inside her tummy, gave me to my mom when I was a baby."

"You right, you grew inside someone else's tummy, so your mom had to feed you with a bottle when you're a baby, because she didn't have any milk on her breasts after you were born." he explained to her.

She stood quite a while, trying to process all that information. House could hear the wheels turning in her head.

"Do I have a daddy too?" she finally asked.

"No, Rachel. You don't." he, honestly, thought it will still be months before she would ask that question, or that was Cuddy who would deal with it. However, of all days, she had to choose today, to bring that up.

"Do you have a daddy?"

"I did but he's dead"

"Does mommy have a daddy?"

"She did, he died too."

"Are you gonna die too?" she asked quietly.

"No." he lied, he just didn't want to make this conversation more complicate than it already was.

Rachel still didn't look convinced. "How come I don't have a daddy?"

"Not everyone has one."

"Is it because I'm not from my mom's belly? Is that why Leah has a dad and I don't?"

He had to admit, the girl was smart for her age. In parts, she was right. Cuddy had chosen to fly solo when she adopted Rachel. But, Leah was born out of a relationship, and that meant, somehow, the kid had both parents.

"Well…" he stopped a moment, he had no idea how to explain that, mostly because it was not fair to make Rachel grow up thinking he didn't see her as a daughter, but, also, wasn't fair to impose him as her father, when he had no idea how to be a good one.

He didn't know how to answer. "Listen, Leah didn't have a choice. She was born and I was already her daddy… you… well, you're lucky, you don't need be stuck with anyone as a daddy." he said not knowing whether he was making a mess of things or not.

"But what if I want one?" she inquired.

"I don't know how that works, Rachel. You'll have to ask your mom." he said, hoping it would work with a two year old.

"Can I have a daddy from the heart, like I have a mommy from the heart?"

"Well, I don't know… I guess you can… again, maybe you should have this talk with your mom." House said, all the fatigue from the last day was starting to make him a little cranky.

"Can you be my daddy from the heart?" Rachel asked, looking him in the eyes.

House wasn't ready to have that conversation with Rachel, not knowing what to say, he squatted down in front of the little girl in the sofa, reaching out to stroke her arms and said: "Rachie, I don't know what to say… you don't want to be stuck with be as your father forever, believe me."

"Father?" she asked not following him.

"Father is the same as daddy, like mother is the same as mom."

"Oh! But I want you to be my daddy too. And I will be with you, and mommy and Leah forever!" she said with a softly voice.

Her statement made him smile a bit. It amazed him how clueless kids are.

"Look, how about if we discuss this in a few years, when you'll be aware of what all this really means?"

"Don't be silly, Gregg! I understood what you said, and I want a mommy who is a boy… and I want him to be you!"

"God, you're persistent… like mother, like daughter!"

"Please!" she begged once more.

"Ok… with one condition!"

"What?"

"You can never change your mind about this, no matter what happens!"

"Ok!" she nodded in agreement.

"Wait, it's not that simple, young lady. I've learnt my lesson; never trust a Cuddy's word." He unfolded a peace o paper he had on his pocket and took a crayon that was lying near the center table and gave them to Rachel. "Here, you have to sign a contract."

She took the paper and the crayon, made some scratch on it, and then gave them back to House.

"Done?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Ok, so we have a deal now. You're my newest older daughter and I'm your dad from the heart."

The end.


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